Duck/Fishing Boat

[billragon1]

I am looking to buy a 17" War Eagle with a 50 hp outboard motor. After shopping a couple of dealers I am more confused then ever on outboard choices. Mercury 50 four cycle, Yamaha 50hp four cycle or the Evinrude E-Tech 50hp two-cycle. All cost close to the same and have thier own pluses and minuses. I am looking at getting a tiller handle. Any of you folks have any experience with any of these to help me make a descision.
Thanks,
Bill

[duckkiller]

I have always ran Evinrude/Johnson and have had several of them and no trouble out of any but then I went and bought a little yamaha b/c I liked it and got a decent deal on it. Simply put its the best little motor I ever bought and even my dad (who is/was a die hard omc man) said he when he bought another rig it would have a yamaha on it. They are probably the most quiet on the water now days. As for Mercury I you couldnt give me one, every one of them I have had or been around have been pieces of junk. Its like I always say Mercury and cheeseburgers, they both black and dont niether of them work when you want them to If it was my $$$$ I would go with a yamaha and then a Evinrude

[TODO]

Fluck an e-tec. I dont know about the smaller h.p.'s, but there have been a good bit of problems out of the larger motors, particuarly with the lower units. I would look at mercury, yamaha, and nissan, in that order. Also i would dump the 4-stroke. There heavy and more expensive. A two stroke like an opti-max gets comparable gas mileage to the 4-strokes i think.

[duckter]

The reputation of the Yamaha is "hands-down" the choice. The only thing anywhere comparable is Honda. The reputation comes not only from guys that own them, but also service tech's will tell you.

Both my previous boat and my current one have Yamaha 4-strokes. If you can afford one - get it.

[Jeff]

I put about 800 hours on my outboards each year. Don't know if that means I know what I am talking about but here is my input.

I currently run a 225 mercury optimax, which is a high pressure direct injection system for a two stroke. It gets good gas mileage, about 3 mpg. However it uses a lot of oil, I go through about 1 gallon of oil for every 40 gallons of gas. Now this might not seem like much, but a gallon of 2 stroke oil is currently about $18/gallon and thats with me buying it in bulk from a freind in 100 gallon increments.

If you get a 4 stroke, yes they will be heavier. But, they burn SLIGHTLY (not a huge difference) less gas, and to me the biggest factor is you change oil in them like you would your car. Therefore on change of oil will last you about 100-200 hours thus making for a large savings on your oil bill. There are lots of things to consider, if I had to get another motor tomorrow here is how I would go:

1. Optimax (can't knock whats working well for me)
2. Honda 4 stroke (hands down quietest motor out there)
3. E-Tec (a freind sells them, they are ALL they are made to be)
4. Yammie 4 stroke (I put this on the bottom of the list simply because down here they will steal your Lower uint on a yammie night before shrimp season opens like clock work.)

[Bates]

I had owned a Johnson 40 Hp 2 stroke for 18 years and it was abused, I had to replace seals in the foot a couple of times from hitting stuff, clean the carberator once and flush the water out of it spending the night under water. Best motor I ever owned. 2 Stroke of course. I owned a 25 Honda tiller. 4 Stroke. I cant say enough about that motor, put about 50 hours on it and then sold the rig to get a bigger boat. That honda was the easiest starting, smoothest idling, sweetest running outboard that I ever had the pleasure of running. Would buy another in a minute. Currently own and Etec 115. No problems so far, we will see. Probably have 100 hrs on it. My friend has a Yamaha 25 that I used for 4 days and I will never by a small Yamaha, probably will not buy any Yamaha. Hard to start, loud (was a 4 stroke also), heavy hunk of Junk. Did I say LOUD, abnoxiously loud. My 115 Etec is quiter than that motor. If I were in the market for a small outboard, I would cough up the money and buy a Honda hands down.

[LostBoy]

I have had smaller Johnsons and dad had a johnson 90 no problems other than had to baby the choak which was common on the johnsons of that day,

Dad bought a Yamaha 115 the first year they came into the outboard market '84 I think. Thing is still running. I run a 150 V-Max now and my friend has the 275-HPDI 4 stroke. No problems out of either. I like a two stroke and if I were buying a small moter that I might be taking on and off a boat the extra weight of a 4 stroke might be an issue.

They are a little louder than other engines, but tough as nails.

[BR549]

To answer his question for what he is probably going to do with it the 2 stroke would probably suit him better. The merc 50 and the yamaha 50 were the exact same powerhead when I was working on em. Quite a few of the fourstrokes interchange their powerheads. OMC never even made a fourstroke. It was made by suzuki for them. For duckhunting and trying to be as agile as possible the 2 strokes are the way to go.
And Jeff a 50/1 oil ratio is 1 gal oil to 48 gal gas. So what your opti is doing ain't bad. Back off the throttle a little and it will reach on up to 60 to 65 gal of gas to a gal of oil. But remember this OIL IS CHEAP compared to a blown powerhead!

[Jeff]

And Jeff a 50/1 oil ratio is 1 gal oil to 48 gal gas. So what your opti is doing ain't bad. Back off the throttle a little and it will reach on up to 60 to 65 gal of gas to a gal of oil. But remember this OIL IS CHEAP compared to a blown powerhead!

I completely agree that oil is cheap. My point I guess is with fuel at the prices they are now and the amount I use my boats, for me to save the $$ on oil would add up and for me a four stroke would probably save me a few bucks. Don't get me wrong I still LOVE my 225 Optimax when I aint hitting trees in the river with it.

[Roach]

I put about 800 hours on my outboards each year. Don't know if that means I know what I am talking about but here is my input.

I currently run a 225 mercury optimax, which is a high pressure direct injection system for a two stroke. It gets good gas mileage, about 3 mpg. However it uses a lot of oil, I go through about 1 gallon of oil for every 40 gallons of gas. Now this might not seem like much, but a gallon of 2 stroke oil is currently about $18/gallon and thats with me buying it in bulk from a freind in 100 gallon increments.

If you get a 4 stroke, yes they will be heavier. But, they burn SLIGHTLY (not a huge difference) less gas, and to me the biggest factor is you change oil in them like you would your car. Therefore on change of oil will last you about 100-200 hours thus making for a large savings on your oil bill. There are lots of things to consider, if I had to get another motor tomorrow here is how I would go:

1. Optimax (can't knock whats working well for me)
2. Honda 4 stroke (hands down quietest motor out there)
3. E-Tec (a freind sells them, they are ALL they are made to be)
4. Yammie 4 stroke (I put this on the bottom of the list simply because down here they will steal your Lower uint on a yammie night before shrimp season opens like clock work.)

I currently own two Mariners, two Johnsons, and an Evinrude. I used to run the BASS tournaments trail around here and I used Johnsons on my Rangers. My brother on the other hand ran Yammies on his. Both have their advantages.
I current fish the Redfish Tour and I have a 225 EFI Mariner on my Bayboat. I have replaced just about everything on it.
IF/When I buy my new boat, it will have a E-Tec on it. From all the dealers, boat owners, and mechanice that I have talked too, they have resolved the lower unit problems. Now they have the 5 year warranty.
With this said, I would agree with the above list but switch the Merc and Etec. I have a become good friends with a ex-Mercury mechanic that runs the new Optimax on his boat and the fuel economy is very impressive.
The Honda is bad to the bone but expensive.
Shop around is my best advice.

[randall25x]

The Yamaha and Mercury are the only "regular" 2 strokes available. I run a 17ft war eagle and I have a Johnson 40 tiller on it. Mine is only 5 years old, but if I had to do it over I would still get a 2 stroke but it would be a 50 and it would be the yamaha or the merc. I love my motor and its been great, so far have never had any trouble other than me tearing up the lower unit. Starts easy no matter the temp. and it will push my boat 32-35 mph by gps depending on the load. The reason I would get the yamaha is because they have the best tiller handle hands down. The tilt and trim is right on the end of the tiller so you can adjust it with your thumb. You can also set the speed and adjust down to how slow or up to how fast you want and it will hold it. The reason I like the merc is because its fast. It has 59 cubic inches 3 cylinders and there is a guy on the refuge that sells a kit to make it a 66 or 67 hp motor. I like fast
Whatever you do get power tilt and trim and I would get a simple 2 stroke for a duckboat. My 2cents.

[master guide]

I will haveto disagree about tilt and trim. no place for it on duck boat. I have a G3 1756 with a 40 mariner. the mariners and mercs have a hyd. cylinder that will ride up when you hit a stump or sand bar. the difference between the motor jumping up or coming to sudden stop while going 30 mph is tremendous.